Episodic Update: New Contributors, Fall Scheduling
LaToya Ferguson and Josh Spiegel join the Episodic Medium team as coverage expands
Look, I’ve written enough of these posts now that you know the story: started this on my own, thought expansion was a long-term goal, and then all of a sudden it was upon us. And somehow, starting this week, Episodic Medium is covering eight—yes, eight—series on a weekly basis for nearly 1000 paying subscribers.
Now, you’ll notice a few things about this schedule. The first is that some shows are not being covered on the day they air. This includes Rick and Morty (posting the day after its Sunday debut), Abbott Elementary (Thursday after its Wednesday premiere) and The Good Fight (Friday mornings after the Thursday debut). This is in part to try to balance out the schedule, but it’s also an acknowledgment that we increasingly watch things on different schedules, and that we’re not concerned about being “first” here at Episodic Medium. We aim to get you the reviews as quickly as possible, but I also want to ensure that contributors have time to complete their best work.
And indeed, if we’re covering eight shows, it means we’re going to be needing more contributors. I put out a call for interested parties, and I’m going to be working to bring as many as those who submitted applications as possible in for guest posts or assignments later in the fall/winter. But for the time being, our two additions are a familiar face from my former stomping grounds and a familiar presence in your Twitter feed if you’re at all a Disney fan (or anti-fan).
Given how the trades covered its two Emmy wins, you’d swear that Abbott Elementary actually won Best Comedy Series, and it certainly has significant momentum heading into its sophomore season following its midseason debut last year. And so I knew that if there was a broadcast show that people are going to be talking about this fall, this was it, and I’m thrilled to say that LaToya Ferguson will be reviewing it weekly here at Episodic Medium. After covering sitcoms like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Mr. Mayor for The A.V. Club in recent years, LaToya is the perfect fit to confront this show’s next chapter, and I’m so grateful she could join us.
While I’m personally very excited about the prospect of returning to the world of Rogue One, and enjoyed my time covering Obi-Wan Kenobi, I knew in terms of time management there needed to be someone else on coverage for Andor, which begins its first season with a three-episode debut on Wednesday. And so when I started talking with Disney bracketeer and Twitter pal Josh Spiegel about the possibility of contributing, it felt like the perfect fit, building on his recent episodic coverage of shows like Barry and Only Murders in the Building at /Film. Really excited to have Josh onboard, and I’ll be part of the conversation in the comments with y’all.
Now, with eight shows being covered, I know there is a fundamental truth: chances are, whether as a paid or free subscriber, you may not be watching some of these shows, and don’t want your inboxes crowded with reviews you don’t intend to read. As a reminder, there’s an easy way to fix this. If you go to “Manage Subscription” section in the top right under your profile while visiting Episodic Medium, you’ll find this dropdown menu that controls which of the different newsletters—each show/franchise has its own—you’re getting emails for.
Simply check and uncheck the boxes as you see fit. As always, free subscribers will get the first reviews of new series, as well as any drop-in content we do over the course of the fall, which will begin this week with a dialogue about the debut of NBC’s Quantum Leap, the fall’s first new show that pre-air reviews haven’t completely trashed.
As always, if you want to look ahead to the rest of the fall schedule, check out our About page. And if you’re not already subscribed to the newsletter, even a free subscription will keep you abreast of the latest goings-on here at the site, while also offering a pretty significant collection of writing about TV.
Thank you for your continued support, and I’m really looking forward to seeing conversations around all eight of these shows flourish in the weeks ahead.
Best,
Myles McNutt
Editor, Episodic Medium
Oh my gosh! LaToya and Josh, welcome to the party! Feels like home.
This rules so hard I kind of can't believe it. Love thst episodic continues to grow!!!